Veiled Visions: Ekphrastic Manipulation by E. M. Forster

This paper examines the nature of ekphrasis in E. M. Forster’s novels Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905) and A Room with a View (1908). These “Italian” texts stem from the same drafts and share the same vision of Italy as an opposition to deeply conventional and traditional Edwardian England. In these novels, Forster’s ekphrasis and ekphrastic depictions seem to be more than just a narrative device inherited from classic epic tradition. I argue that, when viewed broadly as a tool of medialisation of the text, ekphrasis presents layers of meaning, acting as a “veil” that can both conceal and reveal. The close reading of the novels, consequently, shows that ekphrasis is a “lens” of authorial manipulation: it reflects the self-deception of Forster’s characters and Forster’s deception of his readers, inviting them into an interplay of perception and misperception. The writer deliberately and strategically employs ekphrasis to challenge the reader’s expectations, deepen emotional resonance, and reveal profound cultural and artistic binaries and dualities embedded in the narration and plots. Mainly, this is done through the fragmentation principle and “mute” links to other texts and works of art. Weaving in different ekphrastic frameworks – muted frescoes, generalised paintings, “invisible” ekphrasis – Forster creates layered narratives that invite informed readers to engage with elements external to the novels. These elements support and broaden the stories and expand interpretative possibilities. Ultimately, in Forster’s Italian novels, ekphrasis is not used just to describe artefacts but to reveal profound meanings and divides through carefully constructed frameworks.